Me and Ed

It all started when Ed moved in. My next door neighbors put their house up for sale. Soon after, someone bought it. There were many rumors about who it was. Some rumors even said Mike Conley bought the house, but no one believed it. Later on, we found out that a new member of the Utah Jazz had bought the house. His name was Ed Davis. I was super excited because I am a huge Jazz fan. When they moved in, I went over to Ed’s to welcome him into the neighborhood. I baked him some cookies. When I knocked on the door, Ed answered. He was gigantic. He looked about 7 foot and had dark hair and skin. He was very muscley and was in great shape. “Hey man, I’m your next door neighbor, Dawson. I just want to welcome you to the neighborhood,” I said. “Thanks dude, I really appreciate it. Can I have your number?” Ed asked.  “You seem like a pretty cool kid. We should hang sometime.” I gave him my number and went home. I was so excited! I can’t believe that an NBA player wants to hang out with me! I could already tell we were going to be best friends. The next day Ed texted me to come over to his house. I had never been in my next door neighbor’s house before. When I walked in, I realized how gigantic it was. He had and awesome indoor basketball court in his basement. We started playing basketball on it. He was really good, but so was I. We had a pretty intense game of pig and then we played one on one for a few hours. We kept battling and battling but still couldn’t find a winner. Finally we decided we would continue the next day. The following  day after school I went over to play basketball with Ed. We played one on one again. The game went on for hours and hours but still no one won! I was disappointed I didn’t beat Ed. For the second time, we decided to play again the next day and see who was better. When the next day came, Ed and I played for hours. Once again we could not beat each other. That’s when we realized that we would never find a winner. Ed and I decided that there was only one way of solving this: an epic game of cornhole. The winner of the game of cornhole was obviously better at everything in life. So that’s what we did. We sent out invitations to all of our neighbors. One of our neighbors, who is the owner of the Jazz stadium, made a great suggestion. He said that we should invite the whole state of Utah and have the game inside Vivint Smart Home Arena. We couldn’t turn that down. Our neighbor even got ESPN to put the game on TV so the whole world could watch. The game was scheduled in a week. That whole week instead of going to Ed’s and playing basketball, I went and practiced cornhole in my backyard. After what seemed like forever, the day came. It was game time. Me and Ed carpooled to the game. When we got there the stadium was packed with people. The stadium was huge. On the court the cornhole game was set up. Me and Ed got ready. We stretched, did jumping jacks, and did all the other things you do to warm up for cornhole. I walked over to Ed. “Good luck,” I said.  “Thanks bro, but you’re going down,” Ed said. “Yeah right. You’re about to find out who is really the better player,” I exclaimed. It was Ed’s turn first, and he made it. We didn’t really know how cornhole worked so we decided that if you make it you get to keep throwing it until you miss. I don’t know how Ed did it, but he got 74. I was super scared. When it was my turn, I missed the first cornhole. I couldn’t believe it. I had spent so much time practicing! I could not lose to Ed. I still had a chance to win. It was best out of three. I would be starting off the second game. I needed to focus. I tried to concentrate the best I could, and I got it in. I was feeling better about myself now so it was easier to focus. I kept on tossing them in and got a solid score of 45. But Ed was a tough competitor. When it was his turn he unexpectedly missed his first one! I was back in the game! It was now round three. Winner takes all. I had prepared for this. I took a deep breath and threw the sack. It was a perfect shot. I did this time and time again. After I was in the 50’s I lost focus and got a little cocky, so I ended up with a score of 58. Now it was Ed’s turn. He made his first. And his second. And his third. Ed kept on making them in. He was starting to scare me again. He is a cornhole master and could easily win. When he got to 50 I really was nervous. Ed kept on making them! When he got to 57, the whole crowd went silent. If he made this next shot, it would be a tie and give him the chance to win the game. He took a few seconds to throw it, and he missed! The stadium exploded. I won! I beat Ed fair and square. I was officially the better basketball player! After a long night of partying, I headed home and enjoyed  my victory. I had a very good sleep that night. The next day, I headed over to Ed’s. He looked pretty sad. “Hey Ed, can we just forget about the game and be best friends again?” I asked. “Yeah. It doesn’t matter who’s better at basketball. We can still be best friends,” Ed replied. I headed back to my house to spend the rest of the day. Later that day, I got a call. It was from the Utah Jazz. When the phone call was over, I couldn’t believe what I just heard. I sat there in awe for a few minutes. I couldn’t believe it. The Utah Jazz wanted me as their mascot! I have always wanted to be the Jazz Bear. I told Ed right away. He was super excited. We would get to hang out even more because I had to be at all the practices and games. I was so pumped for the season. It is going to be a fun year.